Cyclist jailed nine weeks for accident that killed man, 73
A 19-year-old was jailed yesterday for nine weeks in what is believed to be the first case here involving a cyclist causing a fatal accident.
Khairul Hairuman was riding a bicycle without working brakes when he ran a red light and hit an elderly pedestrian.
Khairul had pleaded guilty to committing a rash act that caused the death of Mr Tong Cheng Poh, 73, in Lorong Ah Soo on April 13 last year.
Mr Tong died of a head injury the following day.
The prosecution had sought four months' jail, saying the proliferation of personal mobility devices in recent times is likely to lead to more such cases.
"A suitably deterrent signal has to be sent," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao.
District Judge Eddy Tham said Khairul committed a clearly illegal and dangerous manoeuvre by running the red light.
He calibrated Khiarul's sentence after taking into account his clean record, and the fact that a bicycle's speed is much lower than that of a motorcycle.
"However , the tragic consequences of this case reveal that death can still be caused by the impact of a moving bicycle," he added.
The maximum penalty for causing death by a rash act is five years' jail and a fine.
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